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Dive Review of Adventures in Diving STX/Victoria House in
Virgin Islands/St Croix

Adventures in Diving STX/Victoria House: "EXCELLENT SERVICE FOR A WEEK OF STRESS-FREE DIVING", May, 2021,

by Rik Pavlescak, FL, US (Sr. Contributor Sr. Contributor 23 reports with 19 Helpful votes). Report 11525 has 2 Helpful votes.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations N/A Food N/A
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 5 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments I was scheduled for a trip to Little Cayman but it still isn't open, so I decided to check out St. Croix. Stumbled upon Adventures in Diving STX and I'm so glad I did. When I called, they said they could put together a week of diving for me, including a mix of boat dives with a collaborating dive shop (their boat is currently out of commission) and shore dives through them. They recommended a number of places to stay, including Victoria House, which I booked.

First: Victoria House is perfectly located next to the Pier and less than 2 minute walk from the dive shop and a few restaurants. The room I booked (Moko Jumbo) was clean and had a microwave and mini-fridge and good AC unit. Note: all rooms require a walk up steps. Due to COVID checkin and checkout are self-serve--they send info to you via email two days before arrival with codes for the front gate and room door. No cleaning service during the stay: you pay a cleaning fee for cleaning after you check out. Essentially it's being run like an AirBnB which suited me just fine.

Second: Mitchell and Andrea at Adventures in Diving STX are FANTASTIC. They took excellent care of me and my gear throughout the week. They transferred my gear from neighboring dive shop that I did boat dives with on three mornings (St Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventures) to and from their shop for my shore dives. They drove me to two different shore dive sites (Butler Bay Ridge and North Star) as well as guided me on a number of Pier dives--the Pier is a very short walk from the dive shop. If walking with a tank is a challenge, they will wheel your gear to the Pier in a wagon.

Both are experts on the Pier and various ways to dive it. No two dives were the same, and we did varying times of day including 7:45 a.m. mid-morning, afternoon, dusk and night dives. They catered to my schedule, and for most of the week I was a solo diver with a private dive guide, yet they still did the dives. I know other shops would have cancelled or transferred me to another shop, but they cheerfully guided me and both were a pleasure to dive with. They are excellent dive guides and checked in on my air consumption and pointed out various critters, which, as a photographer, I appreciated.

The dives at the Pier were terrific and the North Star wall dive was very nice as well. Butler Bay Ridge was "ok"--it made for a good first dive for the week. The Pier never disappoints--from large: eagle ray, stingray, school of tarpon, bait ball, multiple schools of various fish,spotted and green moray eels and plenty of turtles to small: seahorse, octopus, jawfish, sailfin blennies, and various shrimp and crabs. Plenty to photograph and each dive was super enjoyable.
Websites Adventures in Diving STX   Victoria House

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Costa Brava, Roatan, Key West, Cozumel, Key Largo, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Cayman Brac, Bonaire, Philippines, Bali, North Sulawesi, St. John, St. Croix
Closest Airport STX Getting There JetBlue from Fort Lauderdale to San Juan, Puerto Rico connecting flight to St. Croix

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 79-82°F / 26-28°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 30-50 Ft/ 9-15 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Dive guides asked to be notified when at half-tank. Most dives were an hour or a bit longer, depending on air
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's 5 stars Shore Facilities 5 stars
UW Photo Comments For diving at the Pier, the dive shop is a brief walk away. They have a rinse tank for cameras at the shop for post-dive. At the Pier they have diver do a stride entry into the water and then carefully hand your camera to you when you're in the water. They offer to carry the camera out of the water, if needed, at the end of the dive. They are excellent guides and will point out items of interest throughout the dive.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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